The present invention relates generally to livestock chutes and, more particularly, to an apparatus for immobilizing an animal for various treatments including trimming the hooves of cattle.
Livestock chutes for confining and controlling animals, specifically cows, have been in use for many years. A typical chute provides an elongated space into which one animal at a time may be driven. The chute is usually provided with an entry or tailgate which is opened as the animal is driven into the chute. Once the animal is driven into the chute, the tailgate is closed preventing the animal from backing out of the chute.
It has been a routine procedure to trim the claw on the hooves of certain animals for various reasons. If the claw of these animals becomes too long, the animals are likely to experience severe discomfort which, in turn, can cause disease and/or seriously affect milk production.
Natural settings of animals are ever so changing as time goes along. For example, modem dairy farms are mostly closed confinement areas. This requires the animal to stand on concrete most of the time, which increases the risk of lameness which results in production loss. Laminitis, such as toe ulcer, white line disease, heel erosion, double sole, sole ulceration, acute and chronic laminitis, is a disease of the digital laminae of the hoof and is the single most important cause of lameness in a herd. Lameness in livestock has become a costly clinical disease in cattle. Accordingly, most dairy farmers have the hooves of their dairy cattle trimmed by a professional technician at scheduled intervals.
Recently, hydraulic power driven chutes have been developed in which a livestock animal is held while its hooves are being trimmed. The known prior art chute includes a rectangular, box-like structure that is pivotally mounted onto the bed of a vehicle. The chute is rotated between its horizontal position and its vertical position by hydraulically-actuated units. The known chute further includes four legs to support the chute on the ground in its vertical position. Each of the support legs generally includes a telescoping portion which is adjustable to level the chute with the ground. The entrance gate is hinged to the rear end of a wall and is latched in its closed position by a latch. The exit gate is hinged to the front end of a wall and is moved between an open and closed position by a hydraulic unit and is latched with a releasable latch.
A stanchion is pivoted on the exit gate and is movable between its open position and a closed position wherein the head of the animal is immobilized. After the hooves are trimmed, the chute is rotated back to its original position to put the animal back onto its feet. The operator releases the head of the animal and opens the exit gate of the chute so the animal can be herded out of the chute. The exit gate is then closed and latched so that the next animal can be herded into the chute. When an animal is in the chute, it is further immobilized through the use of one or more belly straps, each of which is wound or unwound to engage or disengage the underside of the belly portion of the animal. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,669,332.
While the known livestock chutes for immobilizing an animal are effective for their purposes, they do have certain deficiencies. A major drawback with the known chute is the adjustment mechanism required for leveling the legs supporting the chute on uneven ground surfaces. Moreover, some ground environments such as a wet or flooded field could prevent the chute from being used in such an environment due to the instability associated with both holding and/or leveling the legs in a muddy field.
Further, when an animal is in the chute and the chute is rotated for the trimming process, the belly straps engaged with the underside of the belly portion for immobilizing the animal are not sufficient enough to support the large body of the animal. In addition, the mechanism used to wind up or tighten the belly straps around the animal is antiquated and cumbersome. This can cause discomfort to the animal and safety issues for both the animal and the technician involved. There is therefore a need for an improved supporting system for the chute.
Further, it would be desirable to provide an additional support member for holding the animal in its proper restrained position within the chute to enhance immobility, efficiency and safety.
The present invention provides an advance in the art by providing a free-standing animal chute without any supporting legs extended from the bottom of the chute and it likewise provides for additional immobilizing means for efficiently holding an animal in a restricted position within the chute.